Last night the City Planning Commission voted to approve the project, so we are off to the races. That said, we still have a long road in front of us. Seismic upgrades and the historic nature of the renovation we make this a challenging project. Nonetheless, I am ecstatic about finally being able to march forward on the New Mission. Expect many more updates here as we make progress.

The $10 million renovation will convert the dilapidated furniture storage room / roach crash pad into a 5-screen, 348-seat theater that will serve you beers. In addition, approval was granted for a 114-unit condo development which will replace the beloved neighboring GIANT VALUE building.

Opposition was light but, as expected, you can’t get through a community meeting in the Mission without some folks speaking up against gentrification and high rents. More over at SFGate.

For the past decade, the interior of the New Mission Theater could only be seen by curious developers and graffiti artists who could climb real high. Lucky for the rest of us, Tim League, the founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema released some photos from his last visit to the site.

Tim seems pretty stoked to work on this project, calling San Francisco his “favorite city in the world” and the place his parents met. He fully plans to restore the site to its historic architectural glory. I, personally, can’t wait to enjoy that historic architectural glory myself (with a pint and Back to the Future 2).